Loro Piana has been a beach of the Italian textile business for six generations. Recently, the luxury brand opened a new Maison Loro Piana in Miami’s buzzing Design District. The store’s expansive layout is bright in light wood, splashes of royal blue furniture and drapery, and the brand’s prized cashmere, among other treasures. In celebration of the new location, Loro Piana is showing in-store the work of Sheila Hicks and Pae White.
“What a thrill it is to discover this affinity for natural raw materials in Sheila Hicks and Pae White. And to be able to share it with all those of us who love them too. This is a unique and special experience through which one of Loro Piana’s areas of excellence transcends into art,” said Deputy Chairman Pier Luigi Loro Piana.
Courtesy of Loro Piana.
Recently on display throughout the duration of Art Basel in Miami Beach, the artworks by both artists utilized Loro Piana fibers in unique, delicate ways. In Hick’s work, we see a large circular piece made of horizontal, seemingly thick threads.
“I want the desire to touch to be very much alive. I think that is important, the wanting: the desire to hold it in your hands, to befriend it, to see if it bites, or if it’s compatible to your existence, and in what way. Have you ever noticed how certain areas of classical bronze sculptures where people have touched over and over and over again are shinier than other areas? I think that’s wonderful,” said Hicks.
Courtesy of Loro Piana.
In White’s work, we see a colorful conglomeration of aqua, green, purple, and rustic-colored threads wound diagonally in an oval-square block.
“My interest in the cashmere of Loro Piana is as a raw material whose very nature of softness enhances the rigidity of the metallic threads—and vice versa. In addition to this, the density and richness of the cashmere colors are in opposition to the reflective and more elusive behavior of the metallic threads. So within each tapestry there are these dualities of soft/solid and hard/reflective. To me, materials or colors have an inherent personality, a fluctuating hierarchy… I’ve never seen ‘craft as craft’ or ‘design as design.’ As far as I’m concerned, I’m always making art. Maybe it uses the language of design or the language of craft, but it’s always making art,” said White.
Courtesy of Loro Piana.
Courtesy of Loro Piana.
